Osteomyelitis

Osteomyelitis is a bone infection. It happens when a bacterial infection or a fungal infection spreads to your bones.

Osteomyelitis causes painful swelling in your bone marrow. It can affect any of your bones. Kids with osteomyelitis most commonly have it in their leg or arm bones. Adults usually develop it in their vertebrae (the bones that make up your spine) or hips.

If it’s not treated in time, osteomyelitis can cause permanent bone loss and necrosis (tissue death).

Types of osteomyelitis

There are a few types of osteomyelitis:

• Acute osteomyelitis: A bone infection that happens after an infection spreads to your bones. Acute osteomyelitis is the most common type.
• Vertebral osteomyelitis: Osteomyelitis that infects the vertebrae in your spine.
• Chronic osteomyelitis: Bone infections that aren’t completely cured after treatment can linger in your body and come back (recur) months or years later. Taking the full dose of any medication your healthcare provider prescribes to kill the initial infection is the best way to prevent chronic osteomyelitis.

How common is osteomyelitis?

Researchers think fewer than 25 per 100,000 people experience osteomyelitis each year. However, some studies have found it’s much more common among people who need to stay in the hospital — as high as 1 out of every 675 hospital admissions.

Experts think this difference may be because people who are admitted to the hospital often have health conditions or injuries that make them much more susceptible to bacteria and fungi getting into their blood and bones.